The Interview

‘I do not see France as a country that must be closed. But I believe we must control immigration.’Nick Robinson speaks to National Rally leader Jordan Bardella about his vision for France. The 30-year-old is currently leading the polls to become the country’s next President in 2027.He’s on a media tour to woo businesses, and to persuade the world his party is now mainstream, despite its history with far right politics. It used to be the National Front - founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, a convicted racist and Holocaust denier. Le Pen’s daughter Marine re-branded the party and led it for many years, but is currently barred from public office after a conviction for embezzling EU funds, a verdict she plans to appeal. In her absence, her protégé Jordan Bardella finds himself in charge. He maintains the party has changed since its formative years. In this interview you’ll hear why Mr Bardella rejects challenges on racism. He also says if he becomes president he’ll call for a referendum on immigration "to take back control of our borders." Thank you to the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Nick Robinson Producers: Lucy Sheppard, Clare Williamson, Daniel Kraemer and Leela Padmanabhan Editor: Nick HollandGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Jordan Bardella Credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images)

BBC presenter Kylie Pentelow speaks to Dame Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s former Prime Minister about the importance of empathetic leadership in the time of populism and strongman politics. In 2017 Ardern became the youngest Prime Minister in the world at the time, and only the second ever to have a baby whilst in office. She was praised for her humane approach and leadership through crises such as the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack that saw 51 killed. She swiftly brought in gun laws and reached out to the Muslim community targeted in the attack.In her 5 years in politics she was a champion of climate change and LGBGTQ and indigenous rights, but she was also criticised for some of the harsh lockdown measures that her government enacted during the pandemic.Since leaving politics, Jacinda Ardern has been engaging in global work focused on empathy in leadership, combatting climate change and the prevention of online extremism.She’s written books, including one about being a working mother, and she now stars in a documentary about her life entitled simply, Prime Minister. She’s currently a distinguished fellow and part of the World Leaders Circle at Oxford University.Thank you to the Woman’s Hour team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producers: Dianne McGregor, Farhana Haider & Clare Williamson Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Jacinda Ardern Credit: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Lucy Hockings speaks to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado about the fight for democracy in the South American country. She’s been in hiding since last year’s presidential election in Venezuela, when incumbent Nicolás Maduro declared victory in a contest that was widely dismissed on the international stage as rigged, sparking widespread protests.Around 2,000 people were arrested in the crackdown which followed, among them many members of her opposition coalition. Machado, who had managed to unite the bitterly divided opposition ahead of the election, went into hiding for fear of arrest. She has however continued to give interviews and uploaded videos to social media urging her followers not to give up.The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the 2025 Peace prize for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela. She defied a travel ban to reach Oslo, with Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes describing her journey as "a situation of extreme danger". The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Lucy Hockings Producer: Dylan Arzoni, Claire Noble and Ben Cooper Editors: Justine Lang and Nick HollandGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: María Corina Machado. Photo by Ole Berg-Rusten/EPA/Shutterstock)

‘We are pushing very hard to end this and preserve the future of Sudan’Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, during the G20 summit that took place at the end of November in South Africa.Dr. Abdelatty took up the post last year, following a long diplomatic career across Europe, North America and Asia. He’s tasked with representing Egypt and the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in power since 2014 following a military coup the previous year.Egypt is currently facing a number of issues including an economic crisis at home and political instability along its borders.Libya, to the west, is still dealing with the fallout from the collapse of the Gaddafi regime nearly 15 years later. And On Egypt’s eastern border, much of Gaza lies in ruins. Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that over 1.5 million Sudanese people have sought safety in Egypt as a brutal civil war rages across the border to the south.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Badr Abdelatty Credit: AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Katie Razzall, the BBC’s culture and media editor, speaks to American singer-songwriter Patti Smith during her UK tour marking the 50th anniversary of her ground-breaking debut album Horses.Best-known for her hit Because the Night, she shares the story behind the song, co-written with Bruce Springsteen, and reflects about being at the vanguard of a new wave of artists in the 1970s.Patti also opens up about her new memoir, Bread of Angels, a deeply personal journey through her music, her relationships, and the chance discovery of a devastating secret that changed everything. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Melanie Abbott, Roxanne Panthaki and Ben Cooper Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Patti Smith. Credit: Stefania D'Alessandro/WireImage)